Storytime
by jaybear1701
Summary: Prompt: Dragon AU Cophine with Delphine as the captive princess and Cosima as a dragon.


So, like, once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a special tribe of humans known as the Thrakena, who had this wicked amazing power to turn into mighty dragons!

" _Oh bloody hell."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Dragons again, Cos? Christ."_

 _"Don't listen to him, Auntie Cosima. We love dragons!"_

 _"Thank you, Kira. You always did have better taste than your Uncle Felix. Anyhow, where was I…"_

The Thrakena lived in a mystical forest hidden in the valley between two great, snowy mountains. Although they mostly coexisted peacefully with other tribes, there were some who coveted their power.

 _"Wait. What's coveted mean, Auntie Cosima?"_

 _"Oh, uh, Gemma, coveted means really wanting something you maybe can't have."_

 _"Like how Uncle Felix always wants daddy's drinks trolley? He covets it?"_

 _"I do_ not _covet the drinks trolley!"_

 _"You know what, Gemma? That's exactly right. So then…"_

One person who wanted the Thrakena's power was an evil sorcerer. He wanted to make their power his own and, like, use it for his dastardly plans of world domination. One day, the sorcerer approached the tribe's leader and asked to spend time with them so he might learn their ways. Flattered, the leader readily agreed and allowed the sorcerer into their midst. And…

" _Wait, what's the sorcerer's name?"_

 _"His name? Um. Good question, Oscar. How 'bout we call him…Aldous?"_

 _"Aldous? Seriously Cosima?"_

 _"It's a perfectly legitimate name for an evil sorcerer, Delphine. Anyhow…"_

Aldous disguised his deviousness with charm and charisma, befriending the Thrakena, who grew more and more comfortable with him. So much so that they lowered their guard around him. Then one night, when the moon was high and full and the Thrakena were fast asleep, Aldous used a magical orb to absorb the lunar energy and began to cast a spell on the tribe to permanently turn them into dragons! But before he could finish, the leader woke up and, realizing what Aldous was doing, gave a mighty roar!

The rest of the tribe were roused from their slumber, but it was already too late. They were all shifting into their dragon states, just as Aldous's minions appeared to capture them and lock them into cages. Major bummer, am I right? But one quick thinking dragon managed to escape her shackles. Seeing four baby dragons nearby, she bravely scooped them up and flew off with them into the mountains!

Although he saw this, Aldous, who was already drunk with his own power, didn't pursue them. He thought he had enough dragons in his possession. He brought them to his kingdom where he cast another spell to brainwash them, using them as he saw fit. What he didn't realize at first, however, was that his interrupted first spell had one drawback. Every month, on the night of the new moon, the Thrakena would revert back into their human forms. Which, you know, wouldn't be so bad, but his second spell-the one he used to control the dragons-didn't work on humans. So on those days, he would lock them away in the deepest, darkest dungeons. Many years passed and Aldous conquered all of the neighboring nations, becoming the Sorcerer King of all the lands.

 _"Cosima, don't you think this story might be a little, um, inappropriate for young children?"_

 _"The material too dark for you, Delphine? Well isn't that a tad bit ironic?"_

 _"Felix, behave. If you would just let me finish, you'd see that this is a happy tale for all ages!"_

 _"Yeah let her finish! Stop interrupting, Uncle Felix. You too, Auntie Delphine."_

So back to the story. While Aldous terrorized the nations, the dragon who had escaped from Aldous's attack raised the babies she had rescued as her own, keeping them in hiding and training them so that one day, they could rescue their fellow tribesmen and overthrow the evil sorcerer. Slowly, but surely, they planted seeds of rebellion among the conquered villages and towns, secretly gathering allies and planning Aldous's downfall. Now, the coolest, smartest, most hella bad ass of the the dragons was one by the name of... let's see... Leda...

 _"Oh dear God."_

 _"Quiet in the peanut gallery!"_

Leda grew tired of hiding. She wanted to see the world. But their mother forbade Leda and her sisters from venturing out on their own, for fear that they too would be captured by the dastardly Aldous.

But curiosity consumed Leda and so, on the night of the new moon, she and her sisters placed a sleeping draught into their mother's evening tea so that they could visit a nearby town. Their plan worked, and Leda and her sisters set off. When they reached the town limits, they split up.

As Leda explored, she came across the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. Beraud. She had long, wavy hair as if spun from the purest gold. Her eyes were dazzling, just like the sun. When Leda and Beraud saw each other, it was love at first sight.

" _Oh Cosima…"_

 _"I didn't know this was going to be a love story. Yuck."_

 _"I agree with Oscar. Excuse me while I go and spew my SpaghettiOs."_

 _"Fine, Felix, you think you can do better? Then be my guest."_

 _"Well, don't mind if I do."_

What foolish little Leda didn't know was that Beraud was actually a princess from another kingdom, promised to be the nubile, young bride of evil sorcerer Aldous. Now, Leda was a supposedly an intelligent dragon—if she hadn't been in hiding, she would have gotten a fancy schmancy degree from Dragon U after all. And even though she should have had the common sense to know that her actions were potentially endangering her entire family and the fate of the growing rebellion,

 _"Dude, c'mon…"_

Leda kept meeting with Beraud every month on the new moon.

 _"What did they do together on those nights, Uncle Felix?"_

 _"Well, Gemma, they probably played a lot in bushes. Lots and lots of bushes."_

 _"Felix…"_

 _"Like hide and seek?"_

 _"Why, yes, just like hide and seek. Exactly right."_

Beraud asked Leda why they could only meet on that one night every month. But, surprisingly enough, even Leda wasn't daft enough to tell her the truth. She insisted only that this was the way it had to be. But because Beraud couldn't leave well enough alone, and was wilier than Leda ever realized, Beraud followed Leda home on one of the new moon nights. And when the sun rose over the horizon, Beraud watched Leda transform into a dragon with shiny red scales. She grew frightened and fled back to her village, but not before Leda caught sight of her.

The next day, Beraud, distraught over what she had discovered, came across Aldous. He was furious, for another village had joined the growing rebellion against him, led by the Thrakena who had escaped from his clutches years ago. Beraud listened to Aldous and came to realize that Leda had to be one of the Thrakena the sorcerer king was hunting. She asked him what he would do if he found them, and he answered that he would destroy every last one of them.

 _"Mon dieu, this story is getting out of hand."_

 _"No, no, it's just getting good!"_

 _"Charlotte's right, it is getting good! Keep going, Uncle Felix!"_

 _"Why, thank you, Kira."_

On the next new moon, against both of their better judgments (as per usual), Beraud and Leda met again, unwilling to be parted from each other. Beraud implored Leda to convince her kin to end the rebellion, but Leda refused. She explained their moon curse to Beraud and Aldous's role in it; how he had captured her entire tribe and held them prisoner; how the people craved freedom from the sorcerer king's tyranny. Beraud was beyond shocked, but, fearing for Leda's life, still continued to plead with Leda to surrender. And, despite her love for Beraud, Leda continued to refuse.

Like many times before, the lovers parted ways before dawn. But unbeknownst to Leda and Beraud, the princess had been followed by Aldous and his soldiers. They followed Leda to the Thrakena's lair, stormed it, and captured Leda and the outlaw dragons. In the end, Beraud was Leda's downfall, although really what kind of bloody idiot wouldn't see that coming?

 _"Holy watershed!"_

 _"You have been spending way too much time with Auntie Cosima, Kira."_

 _"This story is not accurate, Felix. You're telling it wrong."_

 _"Am I now, Delphine? Because I think I got it exactly right."_

 _"Non, you're only telling part of the story."_

 _"She's right, Felix."_

 _"Ugh. Of course you'd take her side, Cos."_

 _"I wanna hear the whole story!"_

 _"You will hear it, Gemma. In fact, I think it's about time I took over."_

Leda thought Beraud had betrayed her and she was heartbroken. But what she did not know was that Aldous, consumed by jealousy after witnessing the love between Leda and Beraud, also imprisoned Beraud in the highest tower of his castle. He informed her that he would execute her lover and her family on the night of the next new moon, when they would be human again. Despite her grief, Beraud began to formulate a plan to save Leda. To save them all. To right all the wrongs that Aldous had committed, not only to the Thrakena, but to the entire world. When the month had elapsed, Beraud laid as still as death to coax a guard into her cell. He entered and she used the power of surprise to overpower him and escape!

 _"Are you kidding me? That would never happen! Completely unrealistic."_

 _"Unrealistic? This is a story about dragons and sorcerers, Felix, and_ that _is what you have trouble believing?"_

 _"Girls can kick butt too, Uncle Felix!"_

 _"Of course they can, monkey. Just not…_ that _… girl."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Felix, just, like, shut your gob or whatever and let Delphine finish the story before I tell Alison what you did that one time in her bedroom."_

 _"Thank you, mon amour."_

Once free, Beraud snuck into Aldous's chambers while he slept and stole the moon orb. She ran to the dungeon to see Leda, who, after all that time, shunned her. But Beraud persisted, offering Leda the orb. She encouraged Leda to break the spell so that she and her tribe could once again transform at will, escape, and bring Aldous to justice. Leda, who still believed Beraud had betrayed her, reluctantly agreed to the plan, but on one condition: that she never see Beraud again. Even though it broke her heart, Beraud agreed. All she wanted was Leda's freedom and happiness.

Leda destroyed the moon orb and rallied her brethren. No longer shackled by their curse, the Thrakena rose up as mighty dragons and attacked Aldous's forces. It was a long, heated battle. Just as the Thrakena were about to prevail, Aldous once again tried to cast his brainwashing spell. But this time, he was stopped by none other than Beraud, who struck him down while he was distracted! Leda returned to her human form to bring Aldous to justice, but Beraud intervened, not wanting Leda to have to take a life. Seeing the deep affection that Leda still had for Beraud, Aldous used the momentary distraction to release one last, desperate attack. But Beraud shielded Leda from the blast that ultimately claimed Aldous's cold, miserable life.

 _"No! Please say they survived, Auntie Delphine!"_

 _"Hold on, ma chérie, we're almost done."_

Although wounded, Leda had survived. But Beraud remained unconscious. Leda tried to wake her, but she wouldn't rouse. Leda was quickly falling into despair. Not knowing what else to do, Leda channeled all of her love for Beraud, leaned down, and kissed her. Like magic, Beraud opened her eyes, brought back by the call of her true love's kiss. The end.

* * *

Three young girls cheered as Delphine brought the tale to an end.

"That was the Best. Story. Ever!" exclaimed Kira. Clad in pajamas, she sat with her cousins and Cosima on top of an array of colorful sleeping bags laid out on the Hendrix's living room floor.

Even Oscar reluctantly nodded his head in approval. "Yeah, it was pretty cool," he said. "Except for all that love and kissing stuff."

"Yes, we _all_ could have done without that," Felix chimed in from the recliner, but even he couldn't hold back a smile in response to the children's enthusiasm.

"But you've just gotta end it with a kiss," Charlotte sighed dreamily.

"Because they live happily ever after," Gemma agreed.

"Absolutely kiddo," Cosima answered, hopping up and joining Delphine on the couch. She wrapped an arm around Delphine's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. "They totally lived happily ever after. Right, Delphine?"

"Oui." Smiling, Delphine leaned into a warm kiss despite the loud protests of Felix and Oscar. "Despite all of their hardships and all the forces keeping them apart, they lived happily ever after."

* * *

A/N: I wrote this prompt fill about three months ago on tumblr for **victoriancuddler/vyoria** and submitted it as part of the OBFrankenfics #Cophinefluffathon. Thought I'd go ahead and archive it because sometimes folks could use some fluff. :) Hope you enjoyed it!


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